Sisters Community Church Trip Report
Eastern Latvia
Greetings to all of you from your brothers and Sisters in Christ at Trinity Baptist Church in Ogre, Latvia!
This July five of us from Sisters Community Church (Tim Kizziar, Jeri Weber, Chelsea Weber, Tiffany Adams & C.J. Adams) traveled thousands of miles across the world to the country of Latvia.
Latvia is one of the Baltic States. Estonia and the Baltic Sea to the North, Lithuania and Belarus to the South, the Baltic Sea to the West, and Russia to the East border this country of 2 ½ million people.
In the last 1000 years the Latvians have experienced only 40 years of freedom. The Swedes, the Germans or the Russians have occupied this country all these years! The latest occupation was the Soviet occupation, which officially ended in 1991. We had the opportunity to spend several hours at the Occupation Museum in the capital city of Riga and received a limited understanding of the atrocities that innocent people had suffered for years and years. It is difficult for us as Americans to understand what it means to have your freedoms brutally stripped away. It is equally difficult for us as Americans to understand what it means to suddenly receive freedom after not having it for your entire life.
Freedom has had a dramatic impact on the Latvian people over the last 10 years. In some ways freedom has been a curse and in other ways freedom has been a tremendous blessing.
Because the Latvians had been oppressed for so long many were not prepared to handle freedom responsibly. According to the people we worked with in Latvia their country has the highest divorce rate in Europe, and possibly in the whole world (over 70%). They also told us that the abortion rate was the 2nd highest in Europe. They are unable to even measure the abuse of drugs and alcohol in the country. When we would walk through the streets of the capital we were all amazed at how quiet it was even though there were many people walking through the streets of this metropolitan city. There is a sadness that many of the people visibly carry with them.
On the other hand, freedom has been a blessing to the Latvian people. Economically they are finally progressing and even finding some stability. They are in much better shape economically than the country of Russia and there is finally hope for long-term growth. They also are stronger politically than they have been in years. But, the most significant way freedom has impacted Latvia is spiritually.
Because of all these people have been through those who have come to trust in Jesus Christ have a very strong faith. We were able so see this faith first hand as the Latvians ministered us to, as we ministered with the Latvians and as we were able to minister to the Latvians.
The majority of our time was spent in the town of Ogre where our sister Church is located. Trinity Baptist Church of Ogre has 130 members (almost all of whom came to know Christ since the Soviet occupation). It is a mixture of young and old, men and women. All of us from Sisters felt a connection with these people and are thankful to God that in His sovereignty He has linked together for His purposes.
We participated in two Sunday morning services during our stay. Pastor Tim spoke and the other team members shared testimonies. One of the most memorable aspects of the worship service for us was the singing. It was as though we were transported to heaven when we heard their sweet voices praise God in a different tongue. We also loved to hear them pray to God in their own language. There was intensity and longing that came through even though we didn't understand their words. We also were privileged to participate in a Baptism service and a fellowship time following the service on a Saturday afternoon.
We all wish that each of you could meet the people of our Sister Church. We are going to do our best to try and introduce you to the people through our newsletter, updates in our services and any other creative ways we can find. We also want to tell you about our other ministry experiences, especially or time at the Orphanage and at the military base. This spring we are planning on bringing Pastor Elmars and his wife Gita, along with Sandijs and his wife Martina who are other strong leaders in the Church to Sisters. We know you will love them and quickly be bonded to what God is doing in this church at what is the "uttermost parts of the earth" from us.
Please pray regularly for this Church. Pray for the pastor and the other leaders. Pray for the people of the body to continue to grow and be strengthened in their faith. Pray for many other Latvians, especially those in the city of Ogre, to come to know Jesus Christ. And pray that God show us how to be partners with this Church for the advancement of His Kingdom.
Thank you to all of you who supported this trip with prayer and with finances. God greatly blessed us and as we continue to focus on helping reach another part of His world He will greatly bless our church!
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